Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 holiday period is nearing its end. This weekend, a number of tourist destinations are expected to begin seeing an outflow of visitors returning to their regular routines, including Bali.
Even so, congestion has not yet been observed at Gilimanuk Port, the main land-route gateway from Java to Bali for travelers choosing overland transportation.
According to Radar Bali (Jawa Pos Group), conditions at Gilimanuk Port in Jembrana Regency, Bali, were still relatively calm on Thursday (January 1). On the first day of 2026, there was no significant surge in vehicle traffic, either entering or leaving the Island of the Gods.
ASDP Gilimanuk Port Operations Manager Didi Juliansyah said that vehicles crossing to Java were dominated by private cars and logistics trucks.
According to Jawapos, “From morning until midday, conditions were still calm. Vehicles arriving were able to enter the ferry queue directly without long waiting times,” he explained, as quoted on Friday (January 2).
However, ASDP predicted that traffic movement would increase in the afternoon and reach its peak over the weekend, on Saturday (January 3) and Sunday (January 4, 2026).
“Considering that school and office activities will resume next week, we estimate that the peak of the return flow will occur tomorrow (January 3) and the following day (January 4),” Didi added.
Meanwhile, ASDP President Director Heru Widodo has also conducted a direct inspection of the readiness of the Nataru command post and planned further port infrastructure development.
These measures were taken to ensure smooth long-term operations along the Bali Strait ferry crossing, which continues to experience increasing traffic volume each year.
Following the extended Christmas and New Year holiday period, traffic flow at Gilimanuk Port was still observed to be relatively light on Thursday (January 1, 2026). As of the first day of 2026, there had been no noticeable spike in vehicle numbers, either inbound to or outbound from Bali.
Didi Juliansyah reiterated that vehicles crossing toward Java were largely private vehicles and logistics trucks.
According to Radarbali.id, “From morning to midday, conditions were still calm. Vehicles arriving could immediately enter the ferry queue without long waiting times,” he said.
Nevertheless, ASDP expects traffic movement to begin increasing in the afternoon and reach its peak over the weekend, Saturday (January 3) through Sunday (January 4, 2026).
“Given that school and office activities will resume next week, we estimate the peak of the return flow will occur tomorrow and the day after,” Didi added.
On the other hand, ASDP President Director Heru Widodo has also directly reviewed the readiness of the Nataru command post and outlined plans for port infrastructure development. This step is aimed at ensuring smooth long-term operations along the Bali Strait crossing, which grows busier every year.